Edmonton Oilers catch a much-needed breath during NHL All-Star break

Matt Hendricks and the rest of the Edmonton Oilers are looking to recharge their batteries over the NHL All-Star break before reality sets in on the remainder of what could be their 10th-straight playoff-missing season. (Al Charest)

Topics

Because the first 50 games of the Edmonton Oilers season can best be described as too little, the last 32 are going to be too late.

So as the club catches its breath during the All-Star break, it does so knowing it won’t be catching a playoff spot … for an NHL record-tying 10th straight season.

When the break is over they will be returning to a double-digit deficit in the Pacific Division, needing to overtake Calgary, Vancouver, Anaheim and Arizona.

It will take at least 90 points to even get within shouting distance of the post-season conversation, meaning they’ll have to go something along the lines of 23-8-1 after the break (after going 19-26-5 before it).

That’s a lot to ask of even Connor McDavid, who will be back from his broken collarbone and leading the stretch drive charge when the pucks drops Feb. 2 at Rexall Place.

So for all of the positive change we can see in the Oilers under Todd McLellan and Peter Chiarelli — they are more structured, work harder and their games are much more competitive — the standings tell us their change is not nearly positive enough.

“I couldn’t have said it better myself,” said veteran forward Matt Hendricks, as the Oilers rushed out of the dressing room and scrambled to catch their holiday flights out of town on Sunday.

“Performance-wise we’ve improved, but staying where we are in the standings, it’s not acceptable right now. We’re in a tough spot with a lot of ground to make up and not a lot of time left.”

Hendricks says the bar cannot be set so low here that last place in the West and 28th overall, no matter how they’ve looked on the way there, can be viewed as any sort of accomplishment.

“We’ve shown a lot of improvement in a lot of areas but when it comes down to winning games we’re in a lot of tight ones and we’re not finding ways to get that next goal,” he said.

“We’re not finding ways to tie games up. We’ve carried a few leads into the third period and we’ve given them up, we’ve given up points that we desperately can’t afford to.”

In their defence, the Oilers limped into the All-Star break short-staffed and running on fumes. They have been hammered by injuries, leading the NHL in man games lost (210) and still unable to see what their team looks like when all of its best parts are on the ice at the same time.

They lost Jordan Eberle in the pre-season, and before he could make it back McDavid went down. Eberle comes back and Oscar Klefbom is out. Then right before McDavid is scheduled back, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins breaks his hand.

“We’ve had a lot of injuries, especially to key guys,” said Taylor Hall, who believes a little less misfortune would have made a difference in some of those 15 one-goal losses.

“This league and our division is too good to make up for that. We just don’t have the guys in the lineup right now. But I think as a team and as a culture we’re improving a lot, and that’s a really good sign.”

McDavid’s been watching this team closely for the last 37 games and thinks they might not be as bad as the wins and losses suggest.

“We’ve been up and down,” he said. “We had our great moments, a six-game winning streak and we’ve had our (rough) stretches. Right now we’re kind of limping into the All-Star break, but it’s coming at a good time, a lot of guys are feeling tired and they need this break.

“It’s a good time to get refreshed and come back for a push. You never know what can happen if you get on a streak or get on a roll. And if we get guys back and healthy, I think that will be the case.”

Follow me on twitter.com/sun_tychkowski

robert.tychkowski@sunmedia.ca

As Advertised in the Edmonton SUN

Edmonton Oilers catch a much-needed breath during NHL All-Star break

Because the first 50 games of the Edmonton Oilers season can best be described as too little, the last 32 are going to be too late.
So as the club catches its breath during the All-Star break, it does so knowing it won’t be catching a playoff spot … for an NHL record-tying 10th straight season.
When the break is over they will be returning to a double-digit deficit in the Pacific Division, needing to overtake Calgary, Vancouver, Anaheim and Arizona.
It will take at least 90 points to even get within shouting distance of the post-season conversation, meaning they’ll have to go something along the lines of 23-8-1 after the break (after going 19-26-5 before it).
That’s a lot to ask of even Connor McDavid, who will be back from his broken collarbone and leading the stretch drive charge when the pucks drops Feb. 2 at Rexall Place.